Constitutional Reform and Governance Bill

Did the right hon. Gentleman reject the idea of a referendum in his election manifesto in 2005, when referendums were being discussed in relation to the constitutional treaty? Secondly, I remind him that we cannot have a referendum except by using the sovereignty of Parliament. Parliament decides—genuinely and with humility—that some questions need to be dealt with by the people at large, simply because, as in 1975, there is a genuine reason for doing so. The Lisbon treaty and the current state of affairs are of that order.